Lesson in Homophones: Jae and Jay (Jayden)

[Sung Jae Min]

Jae Min sat in the teacher's lounge with the coffee maker brewing noisily behind him. It was another early morning Jae wanted to spend by sleeping in. Instead he was working half-asleep as always. He slouched farther down his chair, butt nearly slipping off, when he heard the coffee maker stop. Coffee was one of the amazing things in the world that allowed people like Jae make it through the ungodly hours of the morning. Just one problem, though. To drink the coffee he had to get. Getting up required energy that Jae didn't have. Getting energy to get up would involve drinking coffee. "Aigoo...." He let out a quiet groan at his predicament.

Thus, Jae Min sat alone in the teachers lounge with a pot of slowly cooling coffee on the counter just a few feet away. He leaned his head back, and caught a glimpse of the pot just sitting there innocently. "You're mocking me..." He muttered coldly at the pot. Of course that didn't do any good, it just made it appear that he was talking to himself. He glared at it slightly, only to have similar results as when muttering at it. He could see the steam slowly float out, letting all the heat of the beverage escape. Jae sighed heavily, and looked up at the ceiling. He stared at the removable tiles above him.

"Why does work have to be in the mornings too?" Jae asked to no one in particular seeing as no one else was there. Turning his head back down, he lifted his arm heavily to check his watch. Seeing the time most would've gotten their butts up so they could get to class before their students, but Jae Min stayed put figuring the students that arrive early can take care of them selves for ten minutes or so.

In the mean time he leaned back again to glare at that taunting pot of miracle liquid. He hoped maybe if he stared at it long enough he would manifest telekinesis and it would come to him. But of course that wouldn't happen. Who was he kidding anyways? He didn't want any more migraines anyways.

[Jayden "Jay" Hersch]

Unlike Jae, Jay was more of a morning person than most; he always seemed to have energy in the mornings, and whether it was from what he ate or just how his body worked, he didn't know. But still, it allowed him to get up and get going at a very early hour in the morning, and, having lesson plans to work on for his students, he said goodbye to his roommate and zipped off to Hammel.

Once there, he determined the best place to look over his plans was the staff lounge. It was usually quiet at this time of the day, especially during the summer, and he thought he could work in peace. As he made his way down the hall and towards the room, he hummed to himself, performing a little walking jig as he went. When he reached the door, he went to open it until he realized he could hear the dim sound of talking within. Curious, he glanced through the window. Jae, the English teacher, was in there by himself, apparently talking to the coffeemaker he was so forlornly gazing at.

Hiding a snicker, Jay cracked open the door and walked inside, offering a cheery wave to his rather cute co-worker. "Morning, Jae," he greeted, always feeling weird saying his own name. "Having a rough morning?" He chuckled, setting his folder filled with lesson plans on the table and making his way towards the coffee machine. He didn't drink coffee himself, but he figured while he was up, he might as well get his tired companion a mug of it. "Here," he offered, filling up a glass and taking the few short steps over to where Jae was sitting. His fingers brushed Jae's as the transaction was made, and, holding back a smirk, Jay sat down at the table next to him, sipping on his own morning tea.

"Don't you have class pretty soon?" he asked, flipping open his folder and casually glancing over his notes. "Otherwise I don't know why you would willingly choose to be here this early." He looked up at his coworker and grinned, unable to hide his amusement at Jae's laziness.

[Sung Jae Min]

The doorknob jiggled, and Jae listened as another staff member entered the room. Soon a familiar lively voice greeted him. His head flopped over to see Jay, the owner of that voice. "Morning, Jay," he answered back. He too found it odd to greet someone with his own name. He had tried to call him Jayden once before, but that conversation didn't go very far. He also didn't mind being called Jae Min, but most found that calling him Jae was easier. Thus they were calling each other by the same name.

"Yeah... Mornings are just tough in general. Why can't school just go from late morning to evening? I could handle that, and students would be more awake during the first classes." He complained to the trainer. He didn't want to bother him too much, so he left it at that and went back to sitting about lazily. He closed his eyes and sighed with another drawn out "Aigoo.."

He looked up once more to see a mug of coffee being handed over. "Thanks." The two rubbed their knuckles by each others, and Jae gave a smile to the younger Jay. He took a sip of the dark liquid. It already cooled down a bit, but he wasn't going to complain about that. It was his fault anyways. He continued to drink it, getting the much needed caffeine into his system. This would get him through the first class. He may need another dose before the next one, then he'd be able to make it through the whole day.

"Uh-huh. Class starts in fifteen or so. My students that come ten minutes early can handle being in there without me for a few minutes. Essays are due today too, so I'll probably be here a little late for grading purposes. Either that or I'll do grade them on the weekend." He gave a smirk to Jay. He would most likely end up doing that latter. "So, how's your training schedule going?" He asked as he sat up in his chair.

[Jayden "Jay" Hersch]

Jay chuckled at Jae's complaint, shaking his head in amusement. "I don't know, man. Seems to make more sense for most people. I don't think anyone works well in the morning." Well, he himself was a rare exception, but he knew most people couldn't get up easily at the break of dawn like he did. He snickered as Jae closed his eyes and sighed, and resisted the urge to ruffle the guy's hair. He really seemed to be having a rough time waking up.

"No problem," Jay replied, offering a small two-fingered salute as he grinned and sat down. "I don't like to see my coworkers suffer." He watched the older man drink for a moment before returning to look at his own work, having been momentarily captivated by the simple action of Jae swallowing. Whoops. He tried to recall if he had ever seen Jae with a man before...

"Ah, yeah, they're fine," he agreed, glad for the distraction of further conversation. "I tell you, I don't think I could ever teach an English class. All those papers you have to read and edit..." Jay shuddered. "I'd go crazy." Really, any teaching job had to involve some sort of physical activity for the dancer; he went stir-crazy if he had to sit or stand in place for too long. Fortunately, training provided many outlets for him. "It's going well, thanks for asking!" He looked up from his notes, smiling. "It's still definitely a learning experience, and every student is different and requires different techniques, but I think I'm finally starting to get a handle on it." It had been almost a year now since he started, but it felt like time had flown by. He chuckled again as Jae sat up straighter. "Feeling better?" he asked, finishing off the last of his own drink.

[Sung Jae Min]

Jae nodded to Jay's comment about the morning. He knew a lot of people weren't completely awake in the morning, and those who were seemed to easily piss off the half asleep population. He took another swallow of coffee, enjoying every last drop of it.

"English isn't too bad. But I guess that's cause I don't mind sitting around." He chuckled with a little shrug. "It's the kind of class you can just ramble on the entire time. Most of the editing is outside of class, and it's not too hard cause I have the students type out their essays. You know, computers have autocorrect, so it's easy to fix mistakes of their own." Jae shook his head. "I think we should just stick to our jobs because I would not be able to handle training students. Having to personalize each lesson for each student? It'd be mind blowing."

The Korean arched his back into a long stretch. "Yeah, I need the coffee. Thanks again." He looked back at Jay, watching as he empty his own cup. He gave him a friendly smile rounded his cheeks some more. Jae was aware he should've been heading to class by now, but that could wait. Right now he was beginning to enjoy the part of the morning he could. No need to cut it off early, right?

[Jayden "Jay" Hersch]

"To each their own," Jay smiled, sitting back in his chair and resting his hands behind his head. "I'm just glad there are people around who like to teach." He listened as Jae spoke about his job, trying not to show how boring the job still sounded. Definitely not up his alley. "Seems like it's a good job for you, then," he replied politely. "What made you want to become an English teacher anyway?" He wondered if it had been what Jae wanted to do even during his Hammel days. "Honestly? I just feel like each student as a new challenge. I guess that seems a little impersonal, but it helps me try to think creatively with each one depending on their history, their ability, whatever. I really enjoy it." It helped that Zack often worked with him too; they teamed up occasionally, if one of them was having problems with something particularly difficult.

"Anytime, man," he replied, offering a particularly flirtatious smile. Jay glanced at the clock, noticing the time, but deciding not to say anything. Jae could read the time too, so he'd leave when he wanted, Jay wasn't going to push. "What do you do when you're not working?" he asked curiously, interested to learn more about his coworker. "I'm sad to say I can't really remember seeing you around much back when we were students," he admitted sheepishly.

[Sung Jae Min]

"Why an English teacher? Oh, I dunno really." He leaned back again with his neck resting against the back of the chair. "I really like languages. While still a student here I was more focused on French cause I liked how it sounded. But during St Mike's I guess I realized I enjoyed English and it's literature more. My boyfriend in senior year here thought I was crazy for liking such a dull subject." Jae Min laughed a little. "I guess he was right in someways. Training does sound a lot more interesting, working with the kids one on one rather than just assigning chapters for them to read. I wouldn't mind that kind of challenge every once in a while."

Jae took the last swallow of coffee from his mug, and saw Jay's cute smile. He cheekily bounced his eyebrows up at him, and swallowed. "Sleeping, reading, video games. Mostly the latter two." He laughed out again after realizing how childish the last one must have seemed. "So what about you? You're quite the morning person I must say."

"Don't worry about it. That was a few years ago. Sadly, I do remember. We passed in the hall in senior year. I would be going to Spanish class and you'd be heading off towards the Arts wing." He shook his head. "Don't expect me to forget these things. I can't really help it."

[Jayden "Jay" Hersch]

Jay listened to what Jae was saying, but if he had to be honest with himself, the word 'boyfriend' popped out more than anything else. Yes! He thought he had remembered that. "My roommate speaks three languages," he replied, chuckling a little. "I'm afraid I'm stuck mostly to just one. That's neat, though - I'm glad there are people like you that appreciate the 'dull' subjects," he added, laughing a bit more. "Granted, I hated those classes when I was a student, but they do come in handy later in life." He offered a grin. "If you ever want to come check out one of my sessions, you're more than welcome to. It can get pretty intense sometimes. Zack and I work together occasionally when we have a particularly difficult student or power."

Jay held back a snort at Jae's expression. "Oh man, video games," he sighed, leaning back in his chair. "A man of my own heart." He laughed, tapping his fingers against the table. "Not gonna lie, we, Zack and I, have an area set up in our apartment just for dance offs with the consoles." Among other games, that was. "Other than that.... Well, just dancing in general is my passion. I graduated with a degree from dance school a little over a year ago. I have no idea what the hell I'm gonna do with it after I'm done training here, though," he chuckled. "And cooking. I'm a food fiend. I thank my healthy eating habits for my early mornings."

"Oh!" Jay smacked his head as the memory hit him. "I remember now, yeah. I thought you were cute, but I was way too in the closet to say anything." He let out a short, amused laugh. Jay then squinted, tilting his head curiously. "Enhanced memory?" he guessed, thinking that was the only logical conclusion for what Jae had said.

[Sung Jae Min]

Jae listened to the fellow staff member. Zack, he believed to be the name of Jay's roommate. He wasn't entirely sure though. "Yeah, well even the dull classes need to be taught. I'm afraid we wouldn't get far without them. It would be hard to be successful if not literate." He smiled thinking about how bad it would be if a teacher couldn't read. "Now math on the other hand, I see no use for. I hated it."

He sat up straighter in his chair. Jay confirmed his belief, his roommate's name was Zack. His last name? Jae Min had no idea. "So the two of you are big on dancing then? I don't have the coordination, so I stick to warcraft and such." He shrugged it off. "Hopefully your degree will turn out useful. You could always try for a dance teacher?" It was the only career Jae could think of at the time having to do with dance.

Jae let out a chuckle at Jay's comment. "Thanks." He gave a cheeky smile. "And yeah, enhanced memory. It gets old. What about you?" He couldn't remember seeing Jay use a power, or even knowing what it was. He was curious to know. Jae Min figured it was something physical seeing how the man was very active.

[Jayden "Jay" Hersch]

"Oh yeah, of course," Jay chuckled, feeling a bit embarrassed; he hadn't meant to diss the teacher's choice of occupation, he was just glad it wasn't himself that had the job. He did have to agree about math though. "Ever since I graduated, I don't think I've used anything other than basic addition and subtraction," he smirked, tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling. "I've always wondered who uses that stuff besides math teachers."

Jay dipped his head a bit. "Well, I am more than he is, but yes. We're pretty big dorks most of the time, but don't tell him I told you that," he laughed. "We enjoy sitting games as well, though." He cleared his throat, becoming quite aware that he was talking about him and his roommate as though they were one person; whoops. No need to go starting rumors. "I hope so. I think my dream job would be working for Cirque du Soleil or something, but I wouldn't mind teaching it as well." Already he was beginning to think about asking to teach lessons aside from his normal training duties.

"I bet it's nice to be able to remember important things though," Jay replied, returning the smile. "I usually can't even remember what I did a day ago. And I'm disorganized as hell, so I have a terrible time remembering dates and deadlines." At Jae's question, his smile widened into an embarrassed grin, and he laughed a little. "Pasta manipulation," he said as seriously as he could manage, which was not very serious at all. Even after all of these years, it still felt weird to say it aloud. "Horrible, right? I'd give anything to have enhanced flexibility or endurance or something."

[Sung Jae Min]

"The only use I've had for math was averaging the students' grades. Scientists use it.... but that's pretty much it." He told Jay. It has been a while for Jae since he's sat down and just complained about something with someone. It felt good, but he didn't have any steam left for spouting since he no longer had any miserable classes. He could always complain about the students, but that would be rude. A subject is one thing, but people are another story.

Jae Min quietly chuckled and shook his head. "Don't worry, what's said here stays here. Besides, we dorks have to stick together." He had to admit he was quite the dork himself at times. He looked back up at Jay's face. "Cirque de Soleil. That'd be cool. They're pretty amazing performers." The thought of a co-worker and friend being apart of that was a bit inspiring. He's never really had huge ambitions.

"I guess it is, phone numbers and putting names to faces aren't a problem. I remember every word spoken in a conversation, and every word in all the book's I've read. The raging rocks And shivering shocks Shall break the locks Of prison gates. And Phoebus' car Shall shine from far And make and mar The foolish Fates." Jae quoted with perfect pronunciation. "A Midsummer Night's Dream. Act 1, scene 2, lines 18 to 25." He told which lines which were spoken like it was trivial. "Worst of all I can't use 'I forgot' as an excuse..."

The Korean stifled a laugh, not wanting to offend Jay. "Pasta Manipulation? That's actually kind of awesome. I've never thought much of enhanced memory. I'd love to have a more physical ability. Heck, or even a more noticeable mental one." He had to honestly admit that he wasn't fond of his power. Sure, it had it's perks, but he's been asked a couple times by young freshmen if he was a meta. It was a bit embarrassing. "If it was possible, I wouldn't mind trading with you if you didn't mind. But hey, the grass is always greener, right?"

[Jayden "Jay" Hersch]

"Yeah... Fortunately, I don't have to average grades," Jay grinned. He, too, took pleasure in just talking down about a subject that most seemed to despise, and he was beginning to wonder why he hadn't befriended Jae sooner. He was a nice guy to chat with.

He chuckled. "Dorks unite!" That was another reason he was enjoying talking to the English teacher - he didn't feel the need to act cool or smooth around him, even so soon after meeting. Around his students and a lot of other people, he did, so it a bit of a relief. "Yeah, I know," he sighed heavily. "I don't know if I even have a chance, but I've looked into how they ask for auditions, so I'll get to it someday." Probably soon, too, before he was out of the prime time in his life to do it.

Jay's eyes widened as Jae began spouting words from a text he had probably never even read before. "Damn, man," he laughed. "That is... Wow. Being able to remember things like that would certainly help with tests, I'm sure." What he would have done to be able to have that kind of memory in his school years! "Ah, yeah, I guess not," he chuckled. But there didn't seem to be too many downsides to it - the self-proclaimed disorganized dancer was just a tiny bit envious.

He could tell Jae was having a hard time not laughing, so Jay laughed himself, waving a hand. "It's fine, I know it's ridiculous," he told the teacher. "I mean, it's helpful with some cooking and all, but not exactly all that intimidating. What can I do, strangle someone with capellini?" It seemed that being envious of others' abilities was not an uncommon meta problem. "Hell, I'd love to trade," he replied, still chuckling. "Although I admit, I do think I would miss being able to prepare noodles so quickly when I'm starving." He glanced at the clock on the wall, letting out a low whistle. "Aish, I didn't realize how late it was getting. I should probably actually get some lesson plans done for training today." He gave Jae an apologetic look. "We should hang out sometime, though. You can come over to our apartment, I'm sure Zack would love to have someone besides me to game with."

[Sung Jae Min]

Jae laughed. He was glad he could be so open with Jay. They got along very well. He admitted his dorkiness sooner than he would to most, he did have some dignity after all. He enjoyed talking with the trainer. "I think you should think about auditions in a positive way. If you get grumpy you'll start to get wrinkles. We wouldn't want that now, would we? But good luck to you when you do try out!"

The Korean shrugged. "It's good for tests that's for sure." Jae realized Jay laughed to lighten his stifle. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude. And I dunno. Uncooked spaghetti may be able to pierce someone if you try hard enough. Death by Pasta." He imagined that written on a grave stone. "I'd feel pretty pathetic if that was engraved on my tombstone." It would be a strange thing to read. If he didn't know Jay, he would know whether to take it as a joke or not.

As soon as the trainer mentioned the time Jae checked the clock. It was pretty late for a teacher to be arriving to class. "I should be heading off to the English wing now. If I'm any later my more rebellious students will leave." He smiled at Jay. "Sounds good. We should do that sometime." He got up out his chair to wash his mug out, and set in up in the cupboard.

Before he left he turned to Jay. "I'll see you later."

[Jayden "Jay" Hersch]

Jay grinned at Jae's optimism. "Yeah, I try to stay positive. And yeesh.... Wrinkles." He pretended to shudder, then laughed. "Thanks a lot, man, I'll make sure to let you know if I get in!" He was definitely going to try to get to know Jae better, he was having a lot of fun talking to the guy.

"Oh God," he laughed even harder. "I don't know if I should feel awesome now, or horrified. That really would be an awful way to die." Hey, maybe if he ever got into a scuffle, he could use it as self-defense. He hoped he'd never have to find out, but the image was still amusing, if a little morbid.

"Alright man, I'll catch you around." Jay gave his new friend a two-fingered salute and a smile as the teacher stood and washed out his mug. "And don't let those rebels take advantage of you! Just tell them you have a friend that could stab them with spaghetti if they don't behave. That oughta scare them silly." He chuckled and waved once more before returning to his own work, grinning to himself over the fun conversation.